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Jim Carroll

Music, Life and everything else

The randomiser kicks out the jams

10 days to go until the Electric Picnic opens its gates for business and, well, you’re going right? One of the strangest sights this year has been the amount of ticket giveaways and competitions doing the rounds (and here’s one …

Jim Carroll

jimcarroll

Tue, Aug 24, 2010, 09:58

10 days to go until the Electric Picnic opens its gates for business and, well, you’re going right? One of the strangest sights this year has been the amount of ticket giveaways and competitions doing the rounds (and here’s one which that list doesn’t include, plus don’t forget the huge number of radio giveaways, like the one on Ronan Collins’ show on RTE Radio One yesterday). Let’s hope someone is buying the tickets, eh? Maybe we’ll see a ton of National Concert Hall groupies moving from Earlsfort Terrace to Stradbally Hall now that the RTE Concert Orchestra are on the bill. A smart PR addition because it means oodles of pre-match coverage from RTE.

More tickets: are Ticketmaster rather than the acts and promoters about to become the first big beast to seize the all-in ticket pricing agenda? Can’t wait to see acts, agents and promoters react to this – after all, they’re the ones who have used Ticketmaster as a handy scapegoat for high ticket prices for years.

The 10 most disastrous music industry deals from the last 10 years. No mention of Sony signing Jedward, strangely. Our favourite? Robbie Williams’ $160 million 360 Deal in 2002: “Williams loves being able to walk the streets of Los Angeles without being recognized. EMI, which structured the pricey deal, is somehow less thrilled by that freedom.”

New music from Sufjan Stevens? Yes please. You can download his ace new EP “All Delighted People” for five bucks here.

Incoming: Peter Broderick plays The Pavilion, Cork on October 20 and Workman’s Club, Dublin the following night. New mini-album “How They Are” is very sweet.

We heart record labels, but what the hell do they do these days? On the back of our mates Arcade Fire hitting Number One in the United States’ album charts last week with (excellent new album) “The Suburbs”, Sasha Frere-Jones takes a look at the role of record labels like Merge in 2010.

September sees the posthumous release of Aeromodeller’s “First Flight”, an album of masterful jangly pop from the late Derrick Dalton, who died in 2008. Derrick played with various acts on the Dublin scene (including Hey Paulette, Mexican Pets and Crumb), but Aeromodeller was his solo buzz. The album is released by YesBoyIceCream/Disques Fridge on September 29 and there will be a special gig in memory of Derrick that night in Whelan’s in Dublin featuring sets from Thread Pulls, Richer Than Astronauts, The Dinah Brand (whose second album “I Can Walk Through” is released in October) and The Little Beauties. €12 gets you admission to the gig, a vinyl copy of “First Flight” and Crumb’s “Like Goodbye” single. All profits from the gig to Aware.

Vote Irish! It’s that time of year again when DJs start jostling for position in the DJ Magazine Top 100 DJs Poll. Strangely enough, there’s only ever been one dude from the Republic to feature in the poll and that’s John O’Callaghan, who was at number 24 last year. The Top 20, we reckon, beckons this year.